On Friday, at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York an important Political Declaration was adopted to address the serious global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Final text recognises One Health approach to fight AMR

Governments and other agencies took part in the High Level Meeting on Anti-Microbial Resistance during the General Assembly and adopted the text recognising the need for a One Health approach. Positively, it acknowledges that animal health is intrinsically connected to our health, and that of the planet, and must be considered when taking action on AMR.

Declaration recognises contribution of animal agriculture to AMR

Our industrial animal agriculture system is a key driver of the increase of antibiotic resistance in people. The cramped and crowded conditions where factory farmed animals are reared can lead to rapid spread of disease. To compensate for these poor conditions, they are often routinely given antibiotics as a preventative measure.

Another use of antibiotics in animal agriculture is for growth promotion – to encourage higher yields from animals. The Declaration also recognises the negative impact of antibiotic use for growth promotion and the need to phase it out , although no deadline has been included.

This unnecessary overuse contributes to AMR in people, leading to life-saving medicine being rendered ineffective. The World Health Organization lists it among the top ten threats for global health, and experts predict AMR could lead to around 10 million deaths annually by 2050.

The UN Declaration acknowledges that AMR is spread from animal production activities in the environment, through wastewater and manure seeping into soil and water, and that policy tools can be used to prevent this.

Global and national targets

Whilst missing the opportunity to commit to a global target of reduction in food systems, the Declaration includes two important targets – to reduce the number of deaths due to AMR by 10 per cent by 2030; and to raise US$ 100 million to catalyse the achievement of at least 60 per cent of countries having achieved funded plans by 2030.

Member States have also committed by 2030 to meaningfully reduce the quantity of antimicrobials used globally in the agri-food system and to introduce action plans and targets.

Earlier this year, our International Affairs team contributed recommendations to a publication, ‘Call for actionable steps in response to the rising threat of antimicrobial resistance’, issued by the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Platform. It included recommendations to transform agri-food systems to significantly reduce antimicrobial use while optimising animal health and animal welfare. This was considered by UN Member States in advance of yesterday’s meeting.

Collaboration vital for ambitious implementation

Federica di Leonardo, our Global Manager of Food Systems Advocacy comments:

“We welcome the strong recognition of the need for a multisectoral One Health approach, acknowledging that healthy farmed animals are vital for the health of our planet, and the people who live in it.

“We will continue working with all the stakeholders to ensure an ambitious implementation of the Declaration”.

UN Declaration on antimicrobial resistance adopted